Yahya
Mohamed Elhafed Iaazza

Background and Work

Yahya Mohamed El Hafed Aaza co-founded the Collective of Sahrawi Human Rights Defenders (CODESA), a network documenting violations against Sahrawi activists in Morocco and advocating for political prisoners. He served as president of the Tan Tan provincial branch, where his work centred on monitoring detention conditions, supporting families of the imprisoned, and recording cases of abuse that rarely reached public attention.

Among Sahrawi political prisoners, Yahya became known as 'the father', a nickname reflecting his role in helping newly detained activists navigate the isolation, fear, and physical hardship of incarceration. His support ranged from practical advice on surviving interrogation to emotional reassurance during the first days inside. His work made him a target.

Enforced Disappearance

On 13 October 2020, while serving his sentence, Yahya Mohamed El Hafed Aaza was moved from his cell in Bouizakarne prison to an unknown place after exposure to COVID-19. Neither his family nor his lawyer could locate him. Authorities provided no information about his whereabouts or his condition. The enforced disappearance lasted nearly two months.

On 9 December 2020, Yahya called his family for the first time. He informed them that he was being held in Bouizakarne prison, in the south of Morocco. The prison is located far from Tan Tan, where his family lives, making visits prohibitively difficult and expensive.

Detention Conditions and Health

Yahya was held in solitary confinement for nearly twelve weeks. By early 2021, his health had deteriorated sharply. On 5 March 2021, his family was permitted to visit him for the first time in a year. The visit lasted fifteen minutes and was monitored by guards throughout. His wife and son reported that he appeared in severely weakened physical condition, unable to walk without assistance and reliant on an oxygen nebulizer to breathe. He was brought to the visiting area in a wheelchair.

On 3 July 2021, authorities transferred Yahya from Bouizakarne to an undisclosed location. His family was not informed. His whereabouts remained unknown for nearly two weeks. On the same day, Yahya began an open-ended hunger strike, demanding transfer to a prison closer to his family.

On 15 July 2021, his brother was allowed to visit him in Asfi prison, approximately 630 kilometres from Tan Tan. The transfer had moved him even further from his family. Yahya remained on hunger strike.

On 12 August 2021, Yahya was transferred again, this time to Khouribiga prison, north-west of Marrakesh, 820 kilometres from his family. By that point, he had been on hunger strike for forty days. His health was described as alarming.

Legal Proceedings

Yahya was arrested in Tan Tan on 29 February 2008, two days after an annual Sahrawi protest that he was accused of organising but says he did not attend. A police officer was fatally injured during the protest. He was arrested without a warrant and says he was tortured in police custody until he was brought before the prosecutor on 4 March 2008. On 9 October 2008 the criminal chamber of the Agadir Court of Appeal sentenced him to 15 years in prison for incitement to rebellion leading to violence that caused death; he was not convicted of murder. The appeal chamber upheld the sentence on 24 June 2009, and no appeal to the Court of Cassation was filed. He served the full sentence and was released in March 2023.

International Response

Front Line Defenders called on Moroccan authorities to disclose Yahya's location, ensure his access to family and legal counsel, and transfer him to a facility near his home. In November 2021 the UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention, in Opinion 46/2021, found his detention arbitrary and called for his immediate release.